Remembering Where I Was On 9/11/01

I was 28, working as a Unit Manager at a call center in Upstate NY. The day started off  like any other day. Punched in. Morning coffee. Usual "Morning" or "Hello" to fellow co-workers. Turn computers on. Our center was large and had two TVs on the main floor tuned into CNN news. Something to take your mind off the mundane task of phone collections. Then the first plane hit. First thought in my head, some joker with a Cessna flew his plane too close to the World Trade Center and crashed. When that second plane hit, I like so many knew that we were under attack. From that point on in the day, it felt like I had a five pound weight sitting on my forehead. It was just surreal. I thought about my best friend who lived in Brooklyn and her husband. Where were they that day? I tried to provide comfort to those who knew people who worked at the WTC. While that is going on I am having flashbacks in my head of when I was a kid and when I would visit the Towers myself. My father's sister, Janice, who passed away in 1989 worked at the World Trade Center. She would often take my brother and I there. When I was a child, my favorite place to eat there was a restaurant called "The Big Kitchen". They had giant letters that if all the tables were taken you could stand and eat next to one of the letters. Then back to present day. TVs were turned off on the call center floor.

The payroll department had their office right behind where my desk was. I knew they had a radio there and would keep abreast of what was going on. I checked in with the ladies. They said another plane was high-jacked, and didn't know where it was heading. At this point, I didn't want to be at the office anymore. I just wanted to be home with my husband (he was my boyfriend at the time). Had to keep it together. I couldn't leave until 5 pm. My outward appearance was calm but inside I continued this back and forth from present day back to memories of when I was a kid. The roof top observation deck I think I may have only gone up to once. I was a real young kid and I remember it made me very nervous being outside and up so high. I preferred the floor below which allowed you to enjoy the great views of the city while being inside. Also, it was where they had vendors sell souvenirs. The next plane hit the pentagon. Then another crashes in Pennsylvania. Have to send collectors to break.

Break room TV's are still on.  I have more coffee to break through the fog in my head. That's when I look around and see the same fog in everyone else's face. We are all going through the motions of getting through the day. No one wants to be there. Just want to be home with loved ones.